Rotary drill.



L. A. OWENS.

ROTARY DRILL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1912.

r F t t i AZ 2 /6 3 B Z Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

LUTHER A. OWENS, OF FELLOWS, CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY DRILL.

owers.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 211, i913.

Application filed November 29, 1912, Serial No. 734,100. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER A. OWENS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fellows, in the county of Kern and State of California, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Drills, of which thefollowing is a specification. i

i This invention relates to rotary drills, and more particularly torotary drills for producing deep wells, in which operation a drillingdevice with suitable bits is actuated to produce the hole by and throughthe agency of a drill pipe or string which is rotated at the surfacethrough a rotation-imparting mechanism, such as the rotary top commonlyemployed at the present time. In usual practice the upper end of thedrill pipe is connected with the lower end of a swivel stem which inturn is mounted for rotation upon a swlvel cross head suspended abovethe hole by the over-head rig or hoist,

and permitting the rotation of the drill pipe or string as abovereferred to. Breakage frequently occurs at the swivel stem or the pointof connection between the same and the drill pipe. The drill pipe andthe entire drilling string is then allowed to fall, stoppin u the holeand reventing further 7 r: P P

drilling until the obstruction has been ,-:;-ared away, whichinvolves'great loss of time and money coupled frequently with extensivedamage. In order to obviate the pos sibility of such fracture orbreakage under torsion, I provide means acting to sustain and hold upthe drill pipeand the whole drilling string upon the failure of theswivel stem or its conn "tion with the,(lrill pipe. This means isnormally inactive and does not interfere with or affect the rotation ofthe drill pipe and string, but immediately acts and becomes effectiveupon the breakage or failure to act as specified. By the employment ofsuch means, which may be defined as safety means, all of the damage andloss attendant upon breakage or failure of the swivel stem and theconsequent dropping of the drilling string is obviated, and the drillingoperation may he proceeded with with assurance of absence of anypossibility of such loss or damage.

The invention has for its object to provide improved safety means of thegeneral nature stated, or an improved organization of rotary drillmechanism inclusive of or sup plemented by such safety means, which willbe superior in point of relative simplicity and inexpensiveness ofconstruction and organization, facility in installation and attachmentand detachment and adjustment, positiveness in operation and lengthoflife, and which will be generally superior in efliciency andserviceability.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel and useful provision, formation, construction, combination,association and relative arrangement of parts, members and features, allas hereinafter described, shown in the drawing, and finally pointedoutin claims.

In the drawing :-,Figure 1 is a fragmen tary vertical section of aportion of the drill pipe and swivel-stem and swivel cross head ofrotary drilling apparatus; to which is shown applied improved safetymeans organized in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same taken in a line of vision at right angles to thatof Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line X-X Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a similar view taken upon the line XX Fig. 1,and looking in the direction of the appended arrows.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are designated by the samereference characters. Referring with particularity to the drawing, Adesignates a portion of the drill pipe, B designates the swivel stem, Cdesignates the swivel cross head, and D designates means whereby'theswivel cross head and the drillin string are'suspended during rotationof the drillin string relative to the swivel cross head, a1dependingfrom the over-head rig or hoist which is controlled from thedrum or the like in the usual or any preferred manner. At the upper endof the swivel stem B is detachably applied a collar or the like Ebetween which and the swivel cross head are interposed roller bearstem Cis detachably connected with the drill pipe A; and H designates safetymeans normally inactive, and acting upon: failure of the swivel stem orat the connecting collar G, to support the drill pipe and the entiredrilling string vby .co action withwthe collar G. The safety means H areoperatively connected with the swivel crosshead C by link members itwhich extend between :the swivel cross head and a suspending-.mem-

- loosely surround the drill pipe Ainthe present service, beneath thecolllar G, and slightly spaced therefrom; a suitable securingdevice 8being engaged with projecting heads 9 and 10 at the free ends ofthemembers 5 and 6 to'hold saidmembersinworking position after the pipe hasbeen received between said members. This suspension ,meniber is may thusbe readily. applied to and detached from the drill pipe at the workingposition beueaththc collar G. The link members h, which are connectedwith the respective nembers'o and 6 ofthe suspending member It" atdiametrically-ppposed points, each comprise eye-rods 11 and 12 the eyesof the rods' llbeing'detach'ably'connected with the respective members5' and 6, and the eyes of the rods 12 being detachably connected withlugs 13 tliametrically oppositely projecting from the swivetcrosshead Cequidistant from diametrically oppositely projecting lug 15 upon saidswivel cross head and .withwhich the lower ends ofthe suspension means Dare connected. Each pair of eye-rods 11 and 12 is connected ttogether bya turn buckle 16 permitting adjustment to vary the degree of clearanceof the suspending member 7: from. and beneath the collar G.

In the operation of the drilling string,

if the swivel stem l3 failsas by breakage or disconnection at the jointtowhieh is applied the collar. G,-'thedrill rod and entire drillingstring falls slightly, dependent upon'the space between the vcollar 1Gand the suspending member J0, bringing sdch collar down upon suchmember, whereby the entire drilling string is suspended through thecollar and the member is together'with the link members it and theswivel cross head C by which the loadis in turn imposed upon thesuspension means D. The drilling string is thus preventedxfrom fallinginto the hole, and the loss and damage-"attendantupon such falling, asabove pointed cat, are obviated.

It is manifest that'l maywnake many variations and alterations inconstruction the' drilling string upon failure o and organization withrespect to the disclosure of the foregoing description and the drawing,.in adaptingtthe improvements to varying conditions ofuse and fromconsiderations of preference and general adaptav bility, allwithoutdeparting from thespirit of the invention; and I thereforereserve the right to all such alterations, variations and .modificationsas come within the fair spirit end-scope of the invention;

Having thus described my invention I- 'claim "and'desire' to secure byLetters Pat ent:

1. The combination, with a rotary-drilling-string provided with a swivelcross head and means for, suspending the entirety in the drillingoperation; bf-rmea-ns connected with the swivel cross head and acting to85 same and with the swivel cross head to sustain the drilling stringupon failure of 'the swivel stem.

3. The combination, with a drilling'string provided with a swivel crosshead and means forsuspendingthe entirety during the drilling operation;there being a swivel stem whereby the drilling string is rotativelysuspended from the swivel cross headfanda collar connecting the drillingstring and the swivel stem; of means normally spaced beneath said collarand-co-acting with the same and with the swivel cross head to sustainthe dialling string upon-"failure of the swivel stem; sa'idlatter meanscomprising a member surrounding the drilling string beneath the-collar,and adjustable. means extending between the same and the swivel crosshead,

4. The combination, with a rotary 'drlll- 5 ing string and a swivelcross head in connection.- with which thedrilling string is rotativelysuspended; said swivel cross head being provided with pairs of spacedlugs; of

to sustain the means normally sustaining the same, said means so actingbeing connectedv with the other said'spaced'lugs, and means actingpair'of said lugs uponsaid swivel head.

follhe combination with a rotar. drillin -'string and a swivel crosshead from which ,the drilling stringis rotatively suspended; of meansconnected with the swivel cross head and acting to sustain the drillingstring its "suspension means connected with one pair of upon failure ofthe means normally susname to this specification in the presence oftsining the same, ani susgension meansfor two subscribing witnesses. theswivel cross hea sai means so acting to sustain the drilling string andsaid sus- LUTHER OWENS 5 pension means being both connected withWitnesses:

said swivel cross head. D. M. Ronnn'rs,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my L. J. KING.

